Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 2.5 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

I am Alvin living in Malaysia working as a translator. Well... I am 28 this year and just starting to learn the piano. I really love to play some music but I don't really have much talent for it. Gonna work hard to learn my piano.

I'm 27 and trying to learn to play the piano. I took lessons for about a year as a kid, but didn't have the maturity to appreciate them. So here I am almost 20 years later trying to start all over again.

I'm a pharmacy student, so I may not be able to squeeze in an hour every day but I'm certainly going to try.

Im 30 and live in London, uk. I took up the piano from scratch when i was laid off from work about half a year back. Im now completely hooked and spend a large part of my day playing -which doesnt leave me much time for jobhunting, but whatta hell :-)

My biggest idol in the fantastic world of the piano is Vika Yermolyeva, a pianist in Amsterdam. She plays a lot of alternative stuff, like metallica and the like. If this is your cup of tea, you should check out her site: http://vkgoeswild.com/

Im currently trying to nail Fade to Black, although im only through the first page yet (after about a week of hard work lol!)

My name is Vinnie from New Jersey, USA. I'm 31 yrs old. I've been thinking about learning the piano for quite some time now every time I hear it. I was recently laid off from work in December so I decided on a whim to buy a keyboard and give it a shot without a teacher.

I got a Yamaha DGX-230 about 2 weeks ago with Alfreds book 1 and am making good progress. No the keys arent weighted but they are piano sized and have graded action, 76 of them btw. For $300 I got the keyboard, power supply, stand, and ear phones. So basically that was the best I can do in my budget without going overboard on something I wasn't too sure I would stick with.

Basically my only goal is to be able to play greensleeves from that book by summertime. From where I am now I think i'll get there sooner than that but I'm not sure.

Welcome to the ABF Vinnie. Lots of folks, myself included, started out on unweighted keyboards. Likely you will know when its time to seek out an alternative, as I did when I ran out of keys for a low E octave. Until then, there is much to be learned and you've made a good choice to start with Alfred. By now you probably have discovered the very active Alfred Book One thread on ABF. You should have no trouble getting to Greensleeves by summertime if you get to the keyboard every day for at least some practice.

Welcome, Manowar! When I saw your login name I thought you were going to say you were from Kentucky or Lexington! (Home of Man o' War, arguably the greatest race horse that ever lived.) ...but New Jersey?

My musical background started about 11 or so years ago. I became strangely fascinated with pianos kinda out of the blue. I would go pound on the keys of any piano I could find!

Finally about 9 years ago my mom agreed to have me take lessons. My grandma rented a piano from a local store... A console if I recall.

I have taken lessons ever since. With 2 teachers. Recently about 6 months ago I switched to a more professional and jazz/theory oriented teacher. My first teacher was very nice and perfect but only taught up to a certain level.

Other musical backgroundsI picked up the violin in 6th grade, and in 7th grade I wanted to switch to the cello! The school didnt happen to have an extra cello for me to play, but they did have a bass!

So I went with the bass, and about 6 months later I got a Cello for my birthday But I didnt want to go back as I loved the bass. So I just stuck with it!I most recently as of november 09' Made all state orchestra!!!!!! :D:D:D I was very happy!

Currently I own a new 3/4 size bass, an entry pro level instrument. It was $6,000, and I play a 120 year old german style bow. Bass is currently my 2nd instrument next to the piano. I play bass in orchestra, chamber orch, and Jazz band.

***I also play the organ... It is probably my most favorite instrument! (sorry piano people!) I have always had a fascination with the instrument! The real KING of instruments! The largest and most complex instrument ever constructed by man! And one of the most complex mechanical inventions! I started organ about 3 years ago. But have since fallen out due to financial restraints, and no longer having a practice instrument!

But some day! I will take up the organ again! My goal is to work for a pipe organ builder or become a cathedral organist!

I'm 41 years old, from Perth in Australia. One day last year I woke up and decided to learn the piano. After deciding a real one was impractical I bought a Yamaha DGX-630 digital piano with weighted keys. I am really enjoying it. I started from scratch about 6 months ago and am using the Piano Handbook by Carl Humphries. I like the fast pace and the fact I don't have to drone through nursery ryhmes. I'm only up to Unit 2 but I've memorised Greensleeves, Purcell's Minuet in A Minor and the first part of Bach's Minuet in G (BWV 114).

I really love that baroque style. In a few chapters he includes Mozart's complete Sonata in C. I really can't imagine being that advanced. I'm also getting to grips with a bit of theory which I kind of knew from my old guitar days.

All in all I love sitting down at the old "Joanna" and getting in the zone!

If I had to summarise my learning experience on the piano so far I'd say 2 words: muscle memory! I can't believe how I can play simple 2 handed contrapuntal without really "thinking" about it. The hands do their own thing, with only the occasional prodding from my brain. It is really amazing.

(Hello edgeledge, fellow sandgroper!)

Edited by 20thCenturyBoy (01/29/1008:16 PM)

_________________________
Yamaha DGX-630Moving slowly through The Piano Handbook...up to Bach Prelude in C Major

That DGX-630 is what I would have really liked to get if I had the money and I was sure I would stick with piano. I went with the DGX-230, which is similiar except no weighted keys. They do have the graded action though. Only 76 keys as well. The Yamaha sound is fantastic. So no regrets on the 630? That might be my upgrade by the end of the year.

Edit: I see they got a brand new DGX-640 just out. Havent looked into it yet though.

So no regrets on the 630? That might be my upgrade by the end of the year.

Edit: I see they got a brand new DGX-640 just out. Havent looked into it yet though.

Hi Manowar,

Really love the 630. Piano sounds excellent to my untrained ears. It is fun recording my efforts to midi file (no digital audio though).Biggest downside is built-in speakers are rubbish, I run the piano through my stereo instead. Also a lack of lid means the keys get dirty real quick (and I have young kids with sticky fingers). Can't say I use the extra 12 keys much! Some of the other features are gimmicky (pitch bend?) and I don't care much for the "styles" (dull) and drum beats. The keyboard action is nice, but nowhere near a real piano in terms of volume range. I think you need to move to the Clavinova range if you want more quality, but we are talking big bucks there.

I had a quick look at the new 640, and can't see much new. Polyphony is still 64, although there are a few more voices. Looks like more of a restyling job?

_________________________
Yamaha DGX-630Moving slowly through The Piano Handbook...up to Bach Prelude in C Major

Hello, new here! New to piano playing (as of Christmas day 2009!). but not new to music. I played bass clarinet in highschool for five years, and started guitar (classical) when I was about 25. Love to sing and have a decent voice.I'd always thought it would be great to play the piano, and last November, while driving with my husband (25th anniversary coming up June 2010!) listening to a dvd of Chopin, I voiced my thoughts. His reply was to ask if I'd like a keyboard for Christmas!

On Christmas day I started with my Yamaha NP-30. I've been very good, playing every day - some days just half an hour, other days more (in sessions - I can't play for too long at one sitting yet).I have a great teacher and I'm thrilled to be living a life-time dream.

I grew up in Ottawa,Canada and moved to Italy in 1994. I'm still in Italy as you can see by my nickname.

I love music, literature, films, cooking and wine. I teach ESL, have my own business, am a certified sommelier.

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Hello everyone. Just stumbled upon this site today, but already I am hooked and it seems like this is the forum for me. Adult: Check. Just retired end of last year. Beginner: Check. Started taking piano lessons about 2.5 years ago

I've now made it through the level three book and while I find learning each new song very difficult and extremely frustrating, at the same time I am consumed by the process. Not sure what I can contribute but I am an electrical engineer, so if you are hooking up a digital keyboard and stuck with a ground loop, I can help. Before retirement, I really wondered what I would find that would be as fulfilling as engineering. Well, music and the piano seem to be filling in very nicely.

Thanks for the welcome. I've gotten through Alfred's basic adult books (3 levels) and am now working through "First Classics" by Frank Metis. It seems to be kind of a medley of greatest classical hits. At first I didn't like the idea of just learning snippets of classical pieces, now I'm changing my mind. It probably is not a bad idea to order the variety appetizer plate when you don't have a clear idea of what your really want.

I started piano lessons because I wanted to play rock and roll. Signed up with a local teacher who has a very good reputation. Only later noticed that her card says "Classical instruction" in small print down at the bottom. Now my problem is that the classical pieces are just so beautiful that I can't quit. Suppose I'll have to teach myself rock and roll on the side.

Oh, I have a Roland Fantom X8. Got it because I thought I was going to enjoy sound design and patch creation. Turns out once I have a patch dialed up, I start to hear the music that could be played with that patch. Next thing I know, it's time for bed and I never got around to doing the sound design and patch modification.

Yes, it would be tough to leave San Diego. Have only been to Florida once on a one day business trip, so really have no idea what the state is like.

Hi everyone, i've only just found this forum and thought this thread would be a good place to start!

I'm 26, from Scotland and i'm a born again beginner! I played piano for around 2 years into my early teens when my piano teacher moved away and i hadn't played much since. I've been looking for a teacher and found one close by with a place which i snapped up! Only had one lesson so far and i am starting from the very beginning again.

I am an accountant for a law firm and my only other hobby is keeping fit at the gym. Hoping that leaves plenty of time for practice, at the moment i want to jump ahead and learn all the music i want to play but trying to be patient and not run before i can walk.

Looking forward to getting to know some of you, i'm sure i'll be needing plenty of advice from here on in!

_________________________
The difference between the possible and the impossible lies in a person's determination.

Hi everyone, i've only just found this forum and thought this thread would be a good place to start!

I'm 26, from Scotland and i'm a born again beginner! I played piano for around 2 years into my early teens when my piano teacher moved away and i hadn't played much since. I've been looking for a teacher and found one close by with a place which i snapped up! Only had one lesson so far and i am starting from the very beginning again.

I am an accountant for a law firm and my only other hobby is keeping fit at the gym. Hoping that leaves plenty of time for practice, at the moment i want to jump ahead and learn all the music i want to play but trying to be patient and not run before i can walk.

Looking forward to getting to know some of you, i'm sure i'll be needing plenty of advice from here on in!

Hello everyone, my name is Agnes..I live in Singapore (for now) and I was born in Indonesia.. I am a 21 years old beginner, and I LOOVEE piano ever since my mother brought me to piano lesson on my junior high... Unfortunately I didn't continue the lesson because I can't practice without piano (I didn't have piano until recently after annoy my parents for don't know how many years ) I love the sound, the touch, the feeling, and the music of a piano... I planned to continue my lesson after all of my study finish which actually I hate... I want to grab on the piano a.s.a.p It's nice to meet you all and of course I feel lucky to find this forum

I'm 39 living in Europe but originally from the US. I never had any sort of music lessons before February, but I have always wished to play piano, specifically classical music. On a whim, I bought myself a yamaha digital keyboard and a single beginners book. I first started to teach myself how to read the notes. Then bought the Alfred's adult course series. It has been great. But I felt I needed a teacher so started lessons a couple weeks later. I have kept up the momentum since and now feel this urge to get an acoustic piano because I want the real sound. It's been 2.5 months now, seems like years (in a good way).

I hope people are still reading this. I took lessons in grade school but my mother let me quit in 6th grade. I had my daughter in lessons but she quit but she was really into band by then so I let her.

I started taking as an adult right before my only daughter went away to college. Her freshman year I bought a Roland digital.

I finally started practicing this year with any regularity. I may go to the Sonata piano camp this year.

I know this is an old thread, but this seems a good place to start posting

I'm a twenty-year-old Finn (that explains the weird spelling mistakes, I'm sorry). I played the piano when I was a kid... and quit. Now, after eight years, I accidentally heard one of those Mozart piano concertos I had practiced and fell in love again. So, I haven't touched a piano for eight years, I guess I've forgotten a lot but at least I'm a little less impatient than what I used to be. (Well, I'm still awfully impatient. It's in my nature. And it was probably the main reason I quit playing after four or five years... I still couldn't play Rachmaninov or something. Haha.)

I work with books. I love books, too. Luckily, I got employed by a big publishing house and I like what I do very much. I'm not going to stay there forever, though - if everything goes well (=I pass the entrance exams), I'll start studying business & entrepreneurship in September. My dream is to become an entrepreneur, preferably doing something that includes art (I love music and writing). An awful career choice, I know, at least for financial success.. But I've always liked to do what I love, even if that means taking some risks. I live with an aspiring actor/director, which is fun. And I love him very much, too.

I can't wait until the exams are over and I can start learning to play again... I decided on spending my money on a digital piano and eating a little less this month :P. I'd really love to get an acoustic one, though, but it's just not possible since our flat is really small, our walls are paper thin and we're kind of living on a student budget. Kawai's CN-32 is my weapon of choice, I've always liked Kawai's touch and sound and the price didn't kill my bank account... Oh, and the piano is so pretty.

Welcome, Everdream! Can I ask if you are a Nightwish fan? (A question that will seem bizarre to anybody BUT a Nightwish fan, who knows that "Ever dream" is one of their nicest songs.) My daughter and I are probably the biggest Nightwish fans in Lexington, KY, and even got to see them play live in their U.S. tour last fall.

Hi Monica, yeah the name comes from that Nightwish song... I've been a fan since their Wishmaster album and seen them live many times . Not with Anette, though, I liked Tarja's style more. I love the band.

I'd like to play classical, I kind of like more complex melodies (not to say that everything else is simple). I grew up listening to classical music only, as my mother loved Mozart, Beethoven, Bach... I've probably heard everything from Mozart. I'm very open to different styles, though - but classical piano music is still very dear to me. We'll see; first I need to relearn all the things I've forgotten. I'm not sure if I can read notes correctly anymore :P. Way to go.

Hi everyone. I guess I'm one of the older folks here at 63. I live in Houston, originally from the Bronx. I've been playing for about one year. My wife is a piano teacher, and I've been wanting to play forever. I got laid off last year,so that was a great excuse to start! We just got a Yamaha P-155 last week, which is what I am mostly using. We also have a Yamaha C3 which I haven't touched yet, and a Baldwin upright which my wife uses as her main teaching instrument.

This has been one of the most difficult endeavors I've tackled, but then again, it is worth the effort.

I've been posting for a bit, maybe I should introduce myself properly?

I'm Canadian, but have been living in Italy (first in Milan, now in a small town about 25km outside Milan) since 1994....We originally came on what was supposed to be a 2 year adventure. Funny how things work out!

I crossed the half century milestone a little while ago (still trying to get my head around that one!) and just started playing piano on Christmas day 2009.

I played bass clarinet in the highschool band. We played a lot excellent music, which really laid a strong foundation for my love and appreciation of music for the future. I play guitar, not very well, but I play and I have fun. I've written a few little songs for guitar and look forward to finding a left hand part to turn them into piano pieces.

The story of how I started with piano is , I think, charming.

Driving in the car at the beginning of November, my husband and I were listening to a Rachmaninov cd, and I said, "Isn't that amazing. I would love to have learned to play the piano." My husband's reply was ..."Would you like one for Christmas?".

I hesitated and said..."Maybe. Let me think about it." I was wondering if I'd be able to do it, if it would be a waste of money.... So I thought about it for a week or so and did some research on digital keyboards, to see what the costs were like. In the end (obviously) I said yes, and we went shopping.

At the end of January I hooked up with my teacher. She is marvellouos and I'm totally enchanted with my new passion.

I've "met" some really wonderful people on this site and look forward to getting to know you better and learning along with you!

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Andy S - I'm 64 - I think there's a cohort of us over-60's here We're the greatest. Well, except for the over-70's And congratulations on being laid off - I can tell you those were some of the best times of my life. They were so good that 20+ years ago I started working only part time, and it was the best thing I ever did. Playing piano is a fun thing to learn to do, and a nice challenge to keep you up, and there's the reward of the music.

casinitaly - a wonderful adventure Yeah, funny how things work out. I've read many of your posts - I'm glad you're here - you have a great perspective on this stuff.

Cathy

_________________________
CathyPractice like you are the worst; play like you are the best - anonymous

casinitaly - a wonderful adventure Yeah, funny how things work out. I've read many of your posts - I'm glad you're here - you have a great perspective on this stuff.

Cathy

Hi Cathy, thanks so much! I will tell my teacher what you said and I'm sure she will laugh as perspective is the thing I have to work at more than anything else! I want to play NOW and have such difficulty realizing and accepting exactly how much progress I've made. But I'm getting better, slowly (I mean with the perspective thing as well as playing!)I've read your posts too and I think you bring a lovely encouraging voice to the group!

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Hei hei*, Everdream, and welcome to the ABF. Before too long I'm sure you will be playing right where you left off. I know a fair amount about entrepreneurship and believe you will find that doing something you are passionate about is part of the recipe for success. So, you are on the right track! Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. [ *my wife is a native Finn, but apart from hei hei, the only other phrase I ever seem to remember is "haluan olut ja makkara" or something to that effect. ]